SUPPLEMENTS: Sup. Ct. Backs FDA Labeling Requirement

      The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a lower court's ruling that blocked dietary supplement makers from using product labels with health claims not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Wall Street Journal reports the Supreme Court refused to hear a case filed by the Nutritional Health Alliance - - which represents the health food industry -- alleging that an FDA approval requirement for product labels violated the industry's First Amendment rights to free speech (12/8). The move leaves intact the ruling from the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York. The appeals court ruling argued that the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, which gives the FDA 18 months to review labels, includes restrictions necessary "to protect consumers before any harm occurs." The court concluded, "It grants a limited, but reasonable, time within which the FDA can evaluate the evidence in support of the labeling claims" (Carelli, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/8).